Over the Rain
by peanutbutter126
Summary: They live in an ugly yet beautiful world of laughter and tears, love and hate, themselves and everyone else, and they are all human. A collection of oneshots based on prompts from fanfic100. All characters. 10: Smell -Team 7-
1. Beginnings

I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

**AN:** Haha, I've been gone so long no one expected me to start a new story, huh? Well, for my part Over the Rain isn't a huge project. I simply had the idea of looking up fanfic challenges, then came across the good old Ultimate Fanfic Challenge of 100 prompts. Unlike My Life Would Suck Without You, Over the Rain is open to any (reasonable) pairings. It's pretty much just a jumble of stories set in the Naruto world. I doubt I'll get around to all 100 prompts but I figured it'd be a fun ride. I don't have time to write much these days so I'm hoping I can just whip up a short drabble whenever I've got a few moments. Reckon I'll be more active that way?

So here's the first one. I'll be doing the prompts out of order but it's always good to start with a beginning, right? I'll post up a reference table of the prompts on my writing blog (link is in my profile) after Over the Rain is up and running so it's easier to see which ones I've done. If this project gets on its feet, we could probably have some fun with requests - but that's further down the road.

Hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

**Beginnings**

He had always had the impression that a writer's debut would become their most renowned work. Never mind that his didn't make the bestselling list that month, year or decade, its only public feature was in a small space in an unremarkable magazine, overshadowed by cooking recipes written by a grandmother twice his age. It was quite a crushing failure, but even as Jiraiya sank deeper into the cold, murky tide, with the silhouettes and ghosts of the boy who had inspired The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi dancing in the fading light, he didn't stop believing that it was his best.

"I really liked it."

"R-Really now?"

"Yup. The protagonist is just like you."

"Ah Minato, that's not much of a compliment seeing as it didn't sell at all…"

"Don't say that. We want our child to grow up to become just like the shinobi in your book – one that never gives up. That's why we've decided to name him after the main character. What do you think, Sensei?"

"Eh? Wait a sec! It's just a random name I came up with when I was eating ramen. Are you sure you don't want to think it over?"

"Absolutely. Kushina loves it. Don't you, honey?"

"Yes, it's a beautiful name. And for the last time, Minato, if you're going to call me something so embarrassingly sweet, I'd prefer Tomato. Honestly!"

"You cook very sweet tomatoes, honey…"

_Naruto._

Jiraiya closed his eyes with a smile. No, nothing that had helped raise something so brilliant could be a failure.

_The frog at the bottom of the well drifts off into the great ocean..._ There. The epilogue was done. It was a good ending. The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya was complete. Now all that was left was to start on his next book. It was always safe to begin with a title. What would he call it?

_Let's see… ah. Got it._

The Tale of Uzumaki Naruto.


	2. Hours

**Hours**

Two hours and forty-four minutes. Sasuke was timing. Sakura wasn't, but she had a pretty accurate picture from Sasuke tapping his finger against his folded arm every couple of seconds. That, and Naruto usually took ten minutes to come up with something else to entertain himself with, and he'd gone through a healthy plethora ranging from jan-ken-pon to Build a Shuriken House by now.

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with H," the blonde piped up after he had bored of trying to spot a fish in the lake beneath the bridge.

"I Spy again?" Sakura complained. "Do you know any better games, Sasuke-kun?"

A group of younger children on their way to the Academy passed in front of Sasuke. "This is ridiculous," he muttered. Again. "He only ever shows up early when we're late. What kind of jounin is he?"

Naruto's fist met his palm with a meaty thump. "We should punish him by tying him up and eating ramen in front of him. Whaddya say?"

"I say we go on a strike," Sakura said, earning an enthusiastic nod from Naruto.

But Sasuke shook his head. "That won't work against him." Something flashed in the deep onyx eyes. "We need to get rid of that mask."

Several moments of awed staring followed. Someone sneezed. Naruto painstakingly tried to pretend he wasn't impressed. Without a doubt, Sasuke was the most evil one.

Sasuke looked intently at the clock perched beside him. His eyes gradually narrowed with increasing sharpness until the hand struck twelve. He twitched. "Three hours."

Team Seven sighed as one. Even Naruto was deflated by now. They watched miserably as traffic on the bridge slowly increased. There hadn't been a soul in sight when they had arrived at their usual rendezvous point. To say that they had been waiting for a while was a vast understatement.

"Hat," Sasuke said after a long, defeated silence. His teammates perked up.

"Nope," Naruto said confidently. He loved this game because he could legitimately prove Sasuke wrong.

"Hammer."

"Nope."

"House."

"Nuh uh."

"Hair."

"No."

Sakura gazed longingly after a young boy with his mother. "Hamburger."

"Nope."

"Hydrangea."

"Nope. Come on, guys, you're not even close!"

It dragged on. Three hours and eighteen minutes. They had fallen to speaking in mechanical monotones.

"Hawk."

"No."

"Hopscotch."

"No."

"Hippopotamus."

"No – what? Where?" Naruto looked around in wild excitement. Nothing but villagers, food stalls and Sakura's expression telling him that she was not in the mood to be embarrassed by his antics. He rounded and made a face at Sasuke. "Tch, I didn't fall for that one at all, teme!"

Sasuke snorted. "What are you talking about, dobe? That wasn't me."

Naruto blinked. "Eh? But Sakura-chan's voice isn't…" His own voice trailed off. "Hey, wait a second… ahhhhh!"

The genins lunged to the edge of the bridge to stare disbelievingly at the figure perched on the ledge below them.

"You can't be serious," Sasuke deadpanned.

Kakashi looked up from his book and raised a hand in greeting. "Yo. Sorry about that. I fell asleep and had a dream that you three were plotting something wicked against me." He smiled innocently at the three genin trembling above him. "But you guys wouldn't do anything like that. Would you?"

"Heartless monster," Naruto moaned.

In an equally devastated tone, Sakura said, "That's two words, you cheater."

* * *

I think this is the first time I've written pre-Shippuden Sasuke with his team. Ah, the good old Team 7 days!

As a side note, I'll be adding a progress meter for Over the Rain on my writing blog. It only takes me around an hour to write a drabble if I have inspiration, so unlike the other progress meters, the one for Over the Rain will simply show how many of the 100 prompts I've done.


	3. Snow

**Snow**

"Look, Zabuza-san! It's snowing."

"It's always snowing."

"Can I go out and play?"

At this, Zabuza opened an eye to regard the young boy perched by the window of the small shack they had claimed for the night. The clothes Zabuza had given him were now frayed and worn thin. "Play?" he repeated.

"Please?"

Those wide eyes implored him. Those same eyes had been stony when Zabuza had ordered him to find a meal for them; a rabbit whose bony remainders simmered in the dying embers of their campfire. He couldn't change the fact that Haku was still a child. Zabuza closed his eyes again. "Do whatever you want."

"Thank you, Zabuza-san!" Heavens, he could _feel_ that bright smile.

The door rattled as the boy went outside. A chilly gust blew in for a few moments, then abated. He could hear those small hands shaping snow. It was in moments like these that Zabuza wondered just what the hell he was doing. He had the perfect weapon, an obliging, intelligent tool with the blood of a fearsome kekkei genkai flowing in his veins. But a month of apprenticeship had shown him something he hadn't seen in a long time: Haku was kind. Too kind.

Zabuza watched his young charge through the cracked window. Several moments passed. Then he unfolded his tall frame, shouldered his broadsword and left the cabin. Haku looked up. His hands were already red and raw from the cold. "I'm going out for a bit." As the boy rose to follow him, like he always did without fail, Zabuza added, "You can stay. I won't be long."

Haku called after him. "Itterashai!"

He just waved.

He kept his word and wasn't gone long. It wasn't easy for someone like Zabuza to learn that there was someone waiting for him, but he could get used to it. Haku was still in the snow, working diligently. As Zabuza came closer, he looked up and beamed. "Welcome back."

He looked over the boy's small shoulders. "What are those?"

Haku seemed pleased that he'd asked. "My family. That's me-" he pointed at the smallest snowman, then at the larger ones gathered around, "-and that's… that's my mum and dad." His voice grew smaller, his shoulders slumped. It was quite a pathetic sight but it was everywhere on the frozen streets of Kiri.

"What about that one?" Zabuza nodded at a fourth snowman, a particularly large and round one with some sort of iceblock strapped on its back.

Haku smiled. "That's Zabuza-san."

He studied himself with a flat look. Then he looked at the boy, so strong yet so small. "That looks nothing like me." He dumped his baggage on Haku's unsuspecting head. "Put these on. We're leaving."

Haku pulled an oversized kimono out of the bag. "These are girl clothes," he said, coming up with a pink scarf.

Zabuza stamped out the last cinders of their campfire. "You look like one anyway. They'll get you further than that potato sack you're wearing." He looked over his shoulder to find Haku standing behind him with a serene smile, holding the bag to his chest and dripping snow over the ragged floor.

"Thank you, Zabuza-san."

"… Whatever."

They left behind a pile of wet rags, ephemeral footprints and four snowmen encased in ice, as if to preserve a dream.

* * *

First time writing Zabuza and Haku!

"Itterashai " means something along the lines of "have a safe trip".


	4. Insides

**Insides**

This was not what she'd had in mind.

"… they were left over when the sexual organs were developing-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Ino interrupted. "Let me get this straight. So we girls have a bunch of tubules near our ovaries that go nowhere and could have been sperm ducts-"

"Female vas deferens, yes."

"- and guys have some sort of undeveloped uterus?"

"That hangs on the side of the prostate gland, yes." Sakura tapped her ruler against the charts, grinning. "Good job, Ino-pig. So you were listening."

"And this is related to learning medical jutsu _how,_ exactly?"

"How? It's got everything to do with it. Obviously, you need to know the human body before you heal it."

"But why would I need _this?_ It's not like I'll have to explain to some guy why they can't get pregnant…" Ino's voice trailed off as Sakura's face split into a devilish smirk. "You're kidding me," she deadpanned.

The pink-haired girl raised a chastising finger. "A good medic must be prepared for everything."

Ino was beginning to regret asking Tsunade to take her as an apprentice. "When do I learn the cool stuff? Like the jutsu and the chakra control?"

"Weren't you listening to Tsunade-sama? You'll get to that after you learn the theory." The 'duh' tone in Sakura's voice riled Ino, whose tolerance was sorely tested simply by the fact that she was sitting on the floor like a five year old while her rival stood over her, flanked by life-sized diagrams of the male and female bodies. There was only so much an impatient, retail therapy-deprived girl could take.

"And why do _you_ have to be the one teaching me this?" Ino stabbed an accusing finger at Sakura's innocent expression. "What about Tsunade-sama and Shizune-senpai?"

"They're busy of course. And don't forget," Sakura said sweetly, enjoying this, "_I'm_ your senpai too, Pig." She grinned at her friend's horrified expression. "Don't worry, I've been there. It gets better. You'll love Shishou's evasion training."

… Evasion training? _Sweet Amaterasu…_

"Now, the vomeronasal organ in our nose…"

* * *

True stuff. I typed something like 'weird human body facts' into google and that was what came up. I hope that didn't disturb anyone _too_ much. I know _I_ had to reread it a few times, haha.

As a side note, I put up a new poll on my profile. I'd appreciate it if you took a few moments to vote and satiate my curiosity!


	5. Months

**Months**

With a cheerful clank, the so-called Inseparable Puzzle came apart in two.

Gai's face was unreadable as he stared curiously at the pieces in his hand. "Lee…"

His student gulped as he looked up from the stopwatch. "N-Nine seconds, Gai-sensei."

The taijutsu master clenched his trembling fist. "As expected of my eternal rival!" he howled.

Kakashi dusted his hands. "All done? Naruto, Sakura, let's go give the daimyo's wife her cat back."

"Finally!" Tenten handed a contented Tora back to Sakura, and turned to her only teammate not consumed by Gai's passionate defeat and 'inspiring sportsmanship'. "Neji, they're done. Let's go get lunch."

The two groups parted ways, too accustomed to their mentors' one-sided rivalry to pay any heed to their contests. Gai trailed after his students, disheartened. Lee's heart rent in two at the sight. He had to revive his master's youthful flames!

Gai almost tipped over when Lee suddenly perked up with blazing excitement and seized his arm with powerful enthusiasm. His face lit up as Lee finished whispering in his ear. He was close to tears. His pupil nodded determinedly and flashed him a dazzling thumbs up. Eyes shining, Gai squared his shoulders and struck the same pose, contributing enough wattage to keep the Hokage Tower lit in a blackout. He was a man on a mission.

"KAKASHI!"

Gai's bellow was so loud that Tora freaked and went into a frenzy. She squirmed out of Sakura's arms, landed square on Naruto's face, and was immediately on the run. "Ah! Don't just lie there, Naruto, _after it!_"

Kakashi was unperturbed by the fact that his students, one genin and one chuunin, had failed the simplest D-rank mission, one they themselves had requested out of 'nostalgia'. "Hmm? Ah, Gai." As if he hadn't just broken the man's spirit moments earlier.

His fellow jounin wore an incredibly wide, triumphant smile. "My most worthy rival, I challenge you to a race!"

"A race? Ah, not today, Gai. I must be getting old, this back of mine…"

But Gai was shaking his head knowingly. "No, no, no. You are mistaken. This is a race unlike any other!"

"Oh?"

"That's right. You and I are both twenty-nine this year, are we not, Kakashi?"

Sakura and Naruto stopped in their frantic scramble to retrieve the runaway feline and shared a look. "Kaka-sensei is twenty-nine?" they mouthed to each other.

Kakashi shrugged. "So?"

"So? I shall tell you, Kakashi…" Gai pointed triumphantly at the other man. "We will have a race to see who reaches thirty first!"

At the other end of the street, Tenten and Neji stopped to wonder if they had heard right. Behind them, Lee punched the air with an exultant cry.

Hatake Kakashi – Birthday: September 15.

Maito Gai – Birthday: January 1.

Gai grinned expectantly. He'd done it! With this, he was in the lead for the first time in the history of their rivalry. He burst into tears of inconsolable joy.

"You know," Kakashi said absently, "I'm flattered that you acknowledge my superior youth, Gai."

The long, pregnant silence was broken by a passing crow, flapping lazily over their heads. "Aho! Aho!"

* * *

I got those dates from Narutopedia and assumed that they were both born in the same year. I was so lucky that Gai's birthday is before Kakashi.

The 'idiot crow' makes a common appearance in anime. The sound that crows make (Aho!) is a pun for idiot, fool, dummy, etc. Poor Gai.

What do you guys think of Over the Rain so far? It's my first time writing such a wide range of characters, situations and atmospheres.


	6. Star

**Star**

Hinata hadn't known what to expect when Neji returned to their clan's compound with a felled fir tree, but as she sat in the courtyard surrounded by a kaleidoscope of tinsel, baubles and copious lengths of electric lights, she figured she should have known her cousin would have no idea how to set up the decorations. After all, this was the first Christmas tree the Hyuuga clan had seen since Hinata's mother had passed away over ten years ago.

"Tenten should have told me what to do with these before she dumped them on me," Neji was grumbling. Being a jounin capable of spotting a camouflaged butterfly eight hundred metres away did not change the fact that he couldn't for the life of him see where these hideously bright _things_ were supposed to go.

"Maybe you're thinking too hard about it," Hinata suggested. She reached over and picked up several trains of tinsel. "Perhaps we should just try putting them on… like this." She stepped back. "How does it look?"

Neji didn't quite know how to put it. "I… don't think it's supposed to hang vertically like that, Hinata-sama."

"Oh. M-Maybe it goes this way…"

"What are you doing?"

Hinata almost dropped the decorations as she turned around, anxiously wondering how her father and the elders would react to such absurd festivity in the compound. She suppressed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was her sister. "Hanabi… I didn't know you were home."

Hanabi looked towards Neji. "What is this?"

"We are setting up a Christmas tree."

"A Christmas tree? Why?"

Hinata blinked. Why indeed. She hadn't thought to ask. She joined Hanabi in gazing expectantly at Neji.

"It's Christmas," he replied blandly.

"I know, but…" Hanabi didn't know how to finish her sentence. _But we don't celebrate? Can't? Won't?_ In her twelve years, she had never witnessed a festive celebration in the cold walls that seemed to keep its occupants in more than keep trespassers out.

Hinata regarded Neji. He had to be aware of her gaze, and he had to know that his actions were completely uncharacteristic of him. Yet here he was, untangling the lights with splinters and twigs caught in his long hair. Maybe she didn't need any other explanation other than he was trying harder than his elders ever had, for himself and the children in the clan who had never seen Christmas in their backyard.

She picked up where she had left off. "I think this will be a really pretty Christmas tree," she said, and smiled meekly when her cousin glanced up.

Hanabi stared down at the decorations spread at her feet, then at her sister throwing tinsel onto the tree in haphazard patterns. _Father won't approve_, she wanted to say, but she didn't think they would care – or at least some part of her wished they wouldn't.

"Neji-niisan." Hinata and Neji looked over at Hanabi, who had picked up a green bauble and was doing her best not to meet their eyes. "Maybe you can see how the tree in the main square looks like… or is it too far?"

There was a long pause. Hanabi was beginning to think it was a bad idea when Neji spoke lightly, "No, it is within my range."

"That's a great idea, Hanabi," Hinata said warmly.

The younger girl studied her bulbous reflection in the bauble. "That goes on the end of the branches," Neji told her. His Byakugan was seeing right through her.

Hanabi nodded, scooped up an armful of baubles and carried them over to the tree. Hinata smiled as her sister carefully hooked on the first sphere. "How do I wrap this tinsel, Neji?" she called over her shoulder.

They made short work of their task. Hanabi was exceptionally gifted at decorations. Hinata, not so much. When they had finished, all three stepped back to admire their work. The lights were not on, the tinsels still looked strange and there seemed to be more baubles than branches, but Hinata thought it was the most beautiful tree she had ever seen. Only something seemed to be missing.

"Where's the star?" Hanabi wondered.

The sisters turned to stare at Neji, who stared back blankly. All three of them activated their Byakugan and scoured the littered ground.

"It's not here," Hanabi said, crestfallen.

Neji ground his teeth. "_Tenten…_ where are you going, Hinata-sama?"

"I'll be back!" Hinata's muffled voice called back. There were seals in the Main House's bedrooms that negated the Byakugan, so Neji and Hanabi were left wondering until Hinata reappeared, breathless. "One moment," was all she said in response to their inquisitive expressions.

They looked curiously over her shoulder as she folded a long strip of paper, transforming it quickly under her slender fingers.

"Did that come from your _door_?" Hanabi wanted to know. Hinata's cheeks reddened slightly but she kept folding, folding and folding.

"There!" She beamed as she held up the finished product.

"That," Hanabi said, "is the smallest Christmas star I have ever seen."

"W-Well, I couldn't tear down too much of the door…"

"It's a star all the same," Neji said, and indeed it was. If the Hyuuga clan could have a Christmas tree in their courtyard, they could have a palm-sized, rice-coloured and flimsy star.

Hinata turned to her sister. "Hanabi, why don't you put it up?"

"Me?"

"Are you tall enough?"

She wasn't, to her extreme mortification. But when she was sitting on Neji's shoulders, holding the fragile star in her hands, she felt so tall, so accomplished, so peaceful. As she gently placed Hinata's star on the tree, she wished that they could do this again next year, and the year after, until they believed.

* * *

Yes, I know it's not Christmas. I wondered if I should save this one for later, but there is a Christmas prompt in the table, so there can be two Christmas fics in this story. You can never have too much of Christmas!


	7. Thunder

**Thunder**

Itachi pretends he doesn't hear the door slide open as small feet tiptoe into his room, and feigns deep, exhausted sleep when he feels the nervous presence stopping by his head. He doesn't stir when his blanket is tugged from his torso and carefully replaced only to slowly inch away again. But he _does_ grumble when the little camper burrows into the warm tent and plants those small, cold feet on Itachi's back for warmth.

Outside, the rain falls in buckets. _Pitterpatterpitterpatter. _When sparks light up the dark sky, he hears the tiny voice counting in whispers, feels the little body curl closer against his back. He pretends he is anything but wide awake and conscious of everything that is – quite literally – going on behind his back, the same way Sasuke clings to his older brother and pretends he is not at all bothered by the growling thunder that rips into the room like the sky is falling.

Itachi usually has his blanket back by the morning, though he has to stay in bed longer to give Sasuke time to scramble back to his room and pretend he has spent the whole night between his cold sheets and nowhere else. At breakfast, their mother will ask if Sasuke was frightened by the storm and the young boy will indignantly say of course not, he's a big boy and he's an Uchiha, all while sneaking cautious glances at his father. Fugaku will be watching Itachi but Itachi doesn't mind pretending, and eventually Mikoto will give her husband his black coffee and Sasuke will eat his cereal because the rain is over.

But one of these days, Itachi reckons he will catch a cold.

* * *

Inspired by a beautiful picture by Nivalis70 on deviantart. Check it out: http:/ nivalis70 . deviantart . com/gallery/#/d3d6vci (take out the spaces - or if you're lazy, there's a direct link on my blog)

I'll be putting up a chart with the prompts, complete with characters each oneshot focuses on, on my writing blog, so drop by and have a look once it's up. A clean template will be available for download if anyone doing the challenge wants to use it.


	8. Parents

Finally found time to patch up this oneshot. Featuring the first NaruSaku goodness in the story:

* * *

**Parents**

"A-Ah, you know what? My stomach has actually been aching for a while so I'll just…"

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura seized the back of his bright jacket with ease and proceeded to bodily drag her boyfriend down the street for what must have been the sixth time in three blocks. Naruto flailed helplessly.

"But Sakura-chaaaannnnn!" he wailed.

She was merciless. "No buts. You lost the bet so suck it up."

For the umpteenth time, Naruto reminded himself never to forget how dangerous Haruno Sakura was, and to _never_, _ever_ again bet five bowls of ramen on a meeting with the in-laws.

"I thought you were joking!" he cried.

Sakura effortlessly extracted him from the lamppost. "Your problem, not mine," she replied, in a voice too cheerful for Naruto's taste. "After all you've been through, you're going to be defeated by a family dinner? That's not like you, Naruto."

"This is different!" Damn it, she wasn't letting him near anything grounded.

"So?"

Naruto was horrified. "'So'? How can you say that, Sakura? Can't you see I'm shaking here?"

"Why?"

He almost died. Why? _Why?_ "B-Because… because!"

She pulled him into the next street. Naruto recognised this place. They were getting close. And yet… "Because?" Sakura prompted almost absentmindedly.

He caught a glimpse of the red, terracotta roof that he had spent so many nights camped on, making funny faces at Sakura through a loose tile as she lay in bed. He panicked. How could Sakura not see the problem here? It was simply impossible.

Sakura's eyes widened when Naruto wrenched his hand out of hers. "Naruto-"

"_I can't do it!_" The cry resounded in the sunset, echoing off the roof of the sky. Naruto clenched his fists so tightly it hurt, trying to hide the way his shoulders were shaking. "I can't do it," he said again, softer. His eyes were stubbornly riveted on a crack in the ground.

He heard her take a step toward him. "Yes, you can."

"I can't. Don't you understand, Sakura-chan?"

She didn't say anything. He couldn't stand that silence. She had to hate him by now. She'd never want to go to Ichiraku's with him again, never want to show him that special smile that she'd never admit she had.

"They won't like me," he muttered. "They'll pretend they do, but they won't. I'm too-"

"Don't." The one syllable, so sharp and angry, made Naruto's head snap up. Sakura's eyes were ablaze. "Don't say it. I won't forgive you."

He stared into her fierce expression. "S-Sor-"

"Don't," she interrupted. "Just don't, Naruto."

He closed his mouth, mutely watching as Sakura breathed deeply through her nose, eyelids fluttering as she exhaled. Then there was a long, awkward silence. What was he supposed to do?

"Sakura-chan-"

"I don't care." Naruto actually recoiled, because instead of calming down, Sakura now looked even more annoyed.

"I don't care if my parents sweet talk and go on about how you saved the village, when they'll be wishing in their hearts that their daughter had found someone _normal_ instead." He winced. "I don't care if they don't accept you, okay? But the moment you – you utterly stupid _idiot _– when you can't even let others love you, I care." Her eyes softened. "I care so damn much it makes _me_ feel like an idiot." She took a step away from him, like it was overwhelming her, and turned away with an expression that Naruto hated to see on her face. "So don't… don't say those things, Naruto. Okay?"

"… Okay." He couldn't possibly say anything else. He reached out and tugged Sakura's sleeve, like a lost child. "Let's go?"

Sakura smiled and took his hand. "Just let me do all the talking, okay?"

"_All_ of it?"

"Yes."

"What if they ask me something?"

"I'll handle it. I won't let them eat you. Trust me."

"Sure, I trust you…" His wavering voice suggested otherwise, especially since they were now planted in front of Sakura's house and, with her hand securely intertwined with his, there was no escape. "Um, Sakura-chan…?" She was raising her hand to knock even though he knew she had her keys.

She grinned assuredly at him. "Don't worry, we can elope afterwards."

"… Ehh?" But she had already knocked and there were footsteps on the other side.

"Coming," called the voice of the woman who Naruto at that moment feared like expired ramen. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Sakura called back. She squeezed his hand.

"Sakura?" The door was opening. "What happened to your… oh. Why did you tell us you were bringing someone-"

Naruto bowed hurriedly, so deeply that their linked hands yanked Sakura into a clumsy obeisance to her bewildered parent. "G-Good evening, Haruno-dono!"

"… Haruno-dono?"

He came back up rapidly. He stared past Sakura's mother's ear as a jumble of words tumbled from his mouth. "Hai! I am Uzumaki Naruto! I know I'm not the best son-in-law and I really don't mind if you don't like me… but! I'm really strong!" He released her hand to flex his biceps for emphasis – then hastily found her fingers again, like they were a lifeline. "I'll work really hard so I'll be Hokage one day and then everyone will acknowledge me – so don't worry, Haruno-dono, I will take really, really, really good care of Sakura-chan and I swear I'll love her more than ramen!"

He finished with another impossibly deep bow, perspiring from nearly every pore in his body.

The silence was broken by Sakura's palm meeting her face with a painful-sounding _smack_.


	9. What?

**What?**

It used to be easy. A lot of things used to be easier, back when she was still naïve, protected and silly. She's still naïve now, still protected despite her efforts to change that, but she's no longer that silly girl. She's seen things. She's seen death, betrayal, corruption and poverty. She's seen Kakashi-sensei bedridden with wounds she never thought could touch him; she's seen Naruto scream and cry for an enemy like he'd lost a brother; she's finally seeing the boy before her as Uchiha Sasuke.

She knows she's supposed to be paying attention to the jounin at the front, who has paused to cough dryly into his hand (again). More teams had passed the Forest of Death than she had expected would, considering her team had barely escaped with their lives. From the corner of her eye she sees the Sound genins, and her gaze can't help but linger on those limp, bandaged arms. She bites her lip.

"… Is everyone clear on the rules for the preliminary matches?"

She hesitantly raises her eyes to Sasuke's neck. She can't see it under the high collar, which she knows is precisely its wearer's intention. She touches her wrist gingerly, remembering how his fingers had gripped her and how his eyes had flashed with warning, and turns away with a frown. She can't look at him properly now. Sasuke-kun was handsome, admirable and strong. Having seen him writhing and screaming in agony didn't make him anything less. He's simply more. Uchiha Sasuke is dark. He's darker than she thought possible of Sasuke-kun – but that's where she went wrong. He had never been "Sasuke-kun".

She snaps out of her reverie as the teams move to occupy the spectator's balcony. Naruto has already claimed a spot and, with Lee, is watching the flashing billboard with excited anticipation.

He's walking away from her, as if nothing has happened. Only something has.

"Sas… Sasuke-kun."

He stops. He doesn't look any different. His eyes continue to study her like they can only see what she can't. She tries to make him see just how worried she is, but he either can't or won't. It's not easy being honest to him anymore. A thousand love confessions later, she would still be standing here with the heavy, iron-wrought ball of guilt, anxiety and cowardice curdled in her stomach.

"What?" he mutters. Another spark of warning flashes across his eyes, flickering to the Hokage and the proctors. But she's no longer wondering if she should tell them. She knows that her days of interfering with Sasuke-kun's affairs are over.

He's still watching her, that familiar frown of annoyance creeping into his expression. Naruto is calling them slowpokes from the balcony. She can only smile weakly and shake her head. "Nothing."

It's enough for her to check that he's still there, because she can't fight off the foreboding feeling that Sasuke was going to go somewhere she couldn't, and wouldn't want to, follow.

"… First match – Akado Yoroi against Uchiha Sasuke."

It's not easy knowing she can't do anything about it.

* * *

Good news is I finished my English exam and don't think I failed it. Shoutout to PiMPNaRuTo, whose PM made me really miss writing enough to whip up a quick half-hour drabble :)

I know Sakura offers to join Sasuke when he leaves for Sound, but it always sounded like a futile last resort to me. When you look at her post-timeskip you can really see that she's moved past that. Sakura is awesome in Shippuden, btw - when Kishimoto actually gives her some action.

On a side note, does anyone else find the upgraded login area a bit awkward to navigate? I'm still trying to get used to it...


	10. Smell

**Smell**

Hatake Kakashi was in a good mood today. There was no particular reason why. Especially since he was leading a trio of dishevelled, grumpy and distinctly smelly genin who ensured the group received a wide berth as they trudged to the Tower.

"Well, we got a lot of missions done today," Kakashi said in a disturbingly bright tone. "Who knew a cat could escape so many times in one day?"

"Or that lost earrings can wash into sewerage drains on opposite ends of the village," Sakura muttered. They had completed that particular mission two hours ago. She hadn't been able to look at her grime-encrusted fingernails since.

Naruto was still convinced the entire day's events were a conspiracy. With blue eyes wide with conviction and feathers in his ruffled hair, he looked quite the resident lunatic. "How did we end up with all the disgusting jobs on the list? I mean, we're obviously the strongest team out there. Even Kiba's team got a courier mission outside the village! What kind of heroes get caught up in or… orpa…or-"

"Ornithology," Sasuke said. The Uchiha practically spit the syllables out, though his face betrayed only a fraction of his annoyance. Which was still quite substantial.

"That! Why do we have to do all the dirty work just so little kids can study orn… _that_? We never did that at the Academy!"

There was a moment of silence as the three genin recalled how they had spent the afternoon: chasing after birds and assembling them for a class of first-graders at the Academy. They shuddered collectively. Sakura was convinced that she still smelt of droppings.

Their job was made even more difficult when Naruto hypothesised that the only reason the birds hadn't defecated on Sasuke's head was because he looked like a cousin, which prompted such an icy death stare from the Uchiha that the family of magpies they had been closing in on abruptly took flight in a cloud of feathers. Which in turn encouraged every other feathered animal in the vicinity to fall suit, leaving only Kakashi and his orange book in the trees. Naruto's howl of disbelief did little to salvage the situation. "Run along now," their mentor had said heartlessly, turning another page.

Now, Kakashi smiled shrewdly behind his mask. "Now, now. That's why heroes don't pester their wise sensei for more missions."

All three genin froze with one foot into the Tower. Kakashi felt the heat of their glares on his back as he overtook them, whistling innocently.

"Don't just stand there. If we're lucky we can get one last mission done before the sun goes down. Wouldn't that be great?"

He tried not to laugh as a wave of killer intent boiled behind his back. Oh, what a good mood he was in. All in a day's work.

* * *

Oh boy, this terrible tendency to be overrun by plot bunnies only during exam period is going to ruin me...

I thought I'd start taking up requests if people had any, just for fun. I'm open to most things. Here are some parameters anyway:

- You can pick any prompt (except for writer's choice) that hasn't already been done (find a chart of the prompts on my blog - link is in my profile). You can choose a prompt along with characters, or just characters and let me pick the prompt. You can try giving me a mood as well (e.g. humourous, angsty, relaxed) although I can't guarantee I'll be able to fulfill everything.

- Please don't think about yaoi or yuri pairings. I respect such pairings and authors who write them, but I wouldn't be able to write anything half-decent even if I tried - and trust me, you don't want me to try.

- On the bright side, I'm open-minded enough to do most pairings. SasuSaku, NaruHina, NaruIno... I can usually make them work. I imagine crack pairings would be a challenge - but I won't be a party pooper, haha. You name it and I'll try my best to deliver.

- I'm spontaneously active these days, so don't be put off if it takes me ages to get around to your request.

That's about it! Now, I _really_ need to take my exams seriously...


End file.
